A mysterious, enchanting, amazing country - India. The rich culture, unique architectural monuments, extraordinary nature fascinate everyone who comes there.
The cuisine of India is also diverse and unforgettable. Sweets and desserts in particular! Without them, the cuisine of this country would not be complete.
Desserts - India's Sweet Tale
For locals, food is more than just calorie absorption. They attach particular importance to the products, the cooking process itself and the finished dish.
And you can fall in love with Indian desserts in absentia, without even having time to try. Oh, a very tempting sight!
All sweets in India have a common national name - mithai. The base is also the same, and consists of two ingredients - milk and ghee. Since each region adds something of its own to Indian sweets, the recipes are very diverse.
It is believed that such dishes are not entirely useful for the figure and contribute to weight gain. But this is not about the desserts of India, most of which, on the contrary, improve digestion.
Almost all sweets are made without eggs. Fruits and vegetables (as constituent ingredients) contain many Indian sweets. Dessert recipes clearly show this.
A good tradition of the country is to visit with a bag of sweets. So the Indians express their respect, sympathy for the owners of the house.
On holiday, locals make an insane amount of sweets. They treat guests, even unexpected friends, as a gift to the gods.
Some desserts are wrapped in special foil. She is edible.
History of Indian Sweets
Local cuisine did not develop on its own, but under the influence of two religions - Islam and Hinduism. In addition, the Mongol settlers, who ruled the country for some time, made their contribution.
Types of sweets
All desserts in India are divided into two large groups:
- basis - milk (for example, burfi, rabri so on);
- basis - flour (halva, fret and others).
The first type is various casseroles. Just in milk or with rice. Sweet syrups are prepared for casseroles, raisins, nuts, sugar are added.
This group of desserts also includes ice cream.
Indian cuisine: recipes (sweets)
Until now, some millennial original recipes are alive. They have survived to our days without any changes. Of course, new ones have appeared all the time. But the special coloring and ancient wisdom of the East remain in every recipe.
Milk Fudge - Burfi
These are very nutritious and amazingly delicious Indian sweets. Recipes of burfi or barfi (both versions of the name are possible) are different, and in different editions are found in abundance on the Internet. To prepare this dessert, even beginner housewives can do it at home. In addition, it takes only 15 minutes!
One of the options for making this treat.
Composition for 6-7 servings:
- milk powder (fat content from 25%) - 150 grams;
- butter and sugar - 50 grams each;
- sour cream - 60 grams.
Mix butter and sugar and put on fire. When the sugar has melted, add sour cream and continue cooking. It is better to choose a metal dish. Five minutes later add milk powder. Remove from heat. Whip with a mixer, removing lumps. Arrange in tins and in the cold for about five hours.
The result is a delicious dessert! Top can be decorated with cashew nuts, sprinkled with poppy seeds. If necessary, replace the milk powder with fresh milk, and use a baking tray instead of molds.
Indian sweets: jalebi (recipe)
Another no less refined, but easy to prepare dessert. Sweet crispy rings of orange or yellow.
This is perhaps the most popular sweet among both locals and tourists. In India, they do it right on the street.
And you can surprise guests and cook at home Indian jalebi sweets. The recipe is following.
For the test you need:
- flour - 2 glasses;
- semolina - 2 teaspoons;
- sour cream - 1 tablespoon;
- a little soda - on the tip of a teaspoon;
- 1.5 cups of water.
In addition to the test, you also need syrup:
- 2 cups sugar;
- 1 glass of water;
- 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.
- for flavor, you can add a couple of cardamom pods.
- The last ingredient in the recipe is vegetable oil. It will be needed for deep-frying.
Cooking:
- Knead the dough, as on pancakes (according to density), and put for two hours in a warm place, after covering with a towel. While it comes, take up the syrup.
- Put sugar and water on the fire. Then add to them (optional) lemon juice and cardamom. Cook the mixture for about five minutes, until thickened.
- The shape of the jalebi is a spiral. To obtain this effect, you will need a culinary syringe or bag. From them it will be possible to squeeze out the dough and cook Indian sweets. Recipes, as is the case with burfi, have various options.
- When the bag or syringe is ready, the dough is squeezed into a preheated pan with a sufficiently large layer of oil.
- Fry until golden brown alternately on one and the other sides. See that the dough does not touch the bottom in any case.
- We take out the sweets with a slotted spoon, drain the excess oil. To do this, it is better to put them on a napkin. Then put in a pre-prepared syrup.
Jalebi's Crispy Dish Ready!
Hearty Spicy Balls
This fret is Indian sweetness, the recipe of which will now be presented. Dessert is also popular in Pakistan, Nepal and other countries of South Asia. As always, there are many cooking options.
Unlike the previous two recipes, this one will be harder in terms of ingredients. Lada is made from chickpea flour. It can not be purchased everywhere.
Chickpea flour is considered almost therapeutic. They attach great importance to it in Tibetan medicine, in Ayurveda. Chickpea flour is used for women's health and beauty.
If this ingredient is not at hand, use pea.
So what is needed:
- chickpea flour - two cups;
- hazelnuts - 2 tbsp. spoons;
- butter - 200 grams;
- powdered sugar - 1 tablespoon;
- nuts (almonds, cashews, walnuts) - 2 tablespoons (you can choose one kind or use all);
- coconut flakes - 1 tbsp. the spoon;
- cardamom - a pinch;
- cinnamon - ½ teaspoon.
Cooking:
- Add flour to the melted butter in advance. Constantly stirring it, fry until a pleasant nutty flavor arises from the flour.
- Then come the nuts, cardamom, cinnamon. Mix everything again and continue to fry. Powdered sugar is the last. Cool the mixture and make balls out of it. Before sculpting your hands, it is better to moisten with water. Finished balls can be sprinkled with coconut.
Lada does not have to be round at all. The form is completely arbitrary. If there are special cookie cutters, use them.
India can rightly be called a paradise for the sweet tooth. Try these sweets at least once in a lifetime. Enjoy the taste, savor, admire ... And then cook at home, delighting relatives and friends!